1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bolster plate assembly for a printed circuit board, and more particularly to a bolster plate assembly for reinforcing a printed circuit board.
2. Description of Related Art
As the state of development of semiconductor components such as central processing units (CPUs) has evolved towards higher level of integration, the amount of heat semiconductor components generate has significantly increased. The heat must be adequately and timely removed to prevent increased temperatures from damaging the semiconductor components. One approach for solving the heat dissipation problem is to attach heat dissipation devices, which transfer or dissipate heat by means of heat sinks, to printed circuit boards such as motherboards, on which CPUs are disposed. However, as CPUs get increasingly hotter, the heat dissipation devices required to cool these CPUs likewise get larger and heavier. Thus the risk of damage to the motherboards is increased due to mechanical overloading. Therefore, there is an increasing need to distribute the force that is created by the heat dissipation device on the motherboard to minimize load conditions that could damage the motherboard. The bolster plate is invented for reinforcing the motherboard.
Presently, the type of motherboard is shifting from Advanced Technology Extended (ATX) specification towards Balanced Technology Extended (BTX) specification. The arrangement of standard bores of an ATX motherboard, through which a plurality of posts of a bolster plate pass to install a heat dissipation device, is different from the arrangement of standard bores of a BTX motherboard. Thus a bolster plate for an ATX motherboard does not fit a BTX motherboard, and the need to redesign the bolster plate for a BTX motherboard increases design and manufacturing costs.
What is desired, therefore, is to provide a bolster plate assembly which can fit a variety of motherboards.